Dancing figure toy



Nov. 30, 1937. R. LOHR DANCING FIGURE TOY Filed April 28, 1936 xfNvENToRRogmond Lohr` A l A rta m r l 2 s. v

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 30, 1937V DANCING FI Raymond Lohr, Erie, Pa.,

Marx & Company, Inc., poration of New VYork Application April 28, 1

- Claims., `(Cl. 46"-138)` This invention relates to toys, and moreticularly to dancing figure toys. .f Y The primary object of theinventionis to generally improve dancing figure toys. A more particularobject resides in the provision of such al toy in which the figure willbe caused to' move not only vertically to simulate dancing, but alsofrom side to side. In accordance with a further fea-` ture and object ofmy invention, the vibration and movements of the toy are given anirregularity such as to simula-te tap dancing.

Other objects of my` invention concern the general organization andarrangement' of the toy, and are to simulate a small stage with anappropriate back drop; to conceal the motorworks and operatingmechanisml behind the drop; and to support and control the movement ofthe gure toy by means of a support arm which extends in a relativelyinconspic'uous manner 20 from the toy rearwardly through an opening in Ythe back drop.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing'and other more particularizedYolzrjects which will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in thetoy tap dancer elements, and their relation one to the other, ashereinafter are more particularly described in the specification andsought to be defined in the claims. The'specication is accompanied by adrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of one form of toy embodying features of myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken in elevation through the operating mechanismof the toy; and

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation looking in the plane of section line 3-3 ofFig. 2.

Referring to the drawing'and more particularly to Fig. '1, the toycomprises a figure I2 disposed above the forward part Vof a suitablebase I4 and in front of an upright plate I6 mounted on said base. lfdesired, thexbase I4 and plate I6 may be suitably shaped and decoratedtosimulate a stage and back drop such as is used in theatres,restaurants, night-clubs, and the like. The figure I2 is mounted ontheforward end of a'support arm I8 which extends rearwardly from thefigureA through an opening 28 in the plate or drop I6. Appropriatemotor-works, generally designated 22in Fig. 2, are disposed in back ofand concealed by the plate I6. The figure I2 is caused tov dance bymovements given to support arm I8 by the motor 22.

Considering the arrangement in greater detail, the figure I2 ispreferably a loosely jointed gure, that is, the arms 24 are hung looselyfrom the pall'- PATENT OFFICE?" assigner to Louis New York, N. Y., acor- 936, serial No. 76,746

body at the shoulders by pivotal connections 26. The legs 28 aresuspended freely from within the i bodyjand the legs arethemselveslooselyarticu lated atthe knees 38. 'I'he relativedispositionfjof the parts and the range of vertical movement ofthesupport arm I8 are such 'that the feet 32 of the gure are liftedclear .ofbase I4 Ywhen 'the gure is elevated, but rest on the base whenthe figure is lowered. Y j Referring now.Y to Figs. 2 and 3, the inneror rear end of support arm I8 is pivotally mounted at'341'n a suitablevvertical vframe plate-36 forming' the forward Vwall of the spring motorframe. A cam wheel 38 is'lo'cated beneath arm v'Itland is provided withteeth or cam projections 4I) which bear directly against arm I 8. Aswill b-e noted Y in the drawing, the cam 38 is. preferably made., large.in diameter and'isprovided with a vlarge number of camming teeth. Theseteeth are pref-V erably Virregularly spaced and irregularly dimenlsioned. The arm I8 is vibrated or oscillated in a vertical plane by lcamwheel 38, andthe dimensions and groupings of the teeth 48 are such as toimparta desired rhythm and variety to the daneY l ing movement of thefigure 25 An important feature of sides in the fact that the side toside,V as well as up` purpose, I provide a sui able plate or member 42having a vertical slot 36 44 through which the support arm I8 passes.'Slot 44 is disposed immediately in back of the opening 28 previouslyreferred to, and the'said opening is preferablyV dimensioned to',accommodate an appreciable side to side movement -ofY slot 44 andVwith it the support -armv I8. The spring motor-works'is arranged tomovethe plate or memb-er 42 from side to side, thus giving the supportarm I 8 a rather complex oscillatory move` ment having vertical andhorizontal components. H The sideward movements of the ligure arepreferably made relatively slow `and-infrequent` rcorn-i paredtotheverticalv movements, and Ythis result is brought about in acomparativelyl simple man, ner by using the cam Wheel 38Y asY awcrankvor actuating member for'causing sidevvarddisplace-` ment of. member 42.Morespecically, member 42 is pivotally-mounted at its upper end 4B onthe plate or drop I 6. Cam 38 carries an eccentri callylocated pin 48-which projects forwardly from the cam wheel and isfthus adapted to-,bearagainst'th'e depending lower portion 58o'f member42. For a simpleuniform side to side movement of Vmember 42, the member YmayrbeprovidedApin 48 passes.V I-Iovv'-l the present Vtoy regureisrvmoved from anddown. *For this table sidewardly mov# with a-slotinto which crank ever,I prefer to make even the side to side movement less obviously regular.The plate or member 42 is therefore cut away to form the generallyhook-shaped outline indicated in dotted lines at 50 in Fig. 3. The camwheel 38 rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3. As pin48 moves from its bottom position upwardly, it bears against the portion50 of member 42, thus carrying the member toward the left, as viewed inFig. 3, or to the broken-line position Vof the dancer shown in Fig. 1.When pin 48 passes above the upper end of portion 58, the member 42 isfreed for return movement towardithe right.

Inasmuoh asl the upper peripheral portion of.

cam wheel 38 bearing against support arm I8, is moving toward the right,the support arm is carried quickly toward the right, the member 42 beingmoved with the support arm'. The dancer is then moved to the solid-lineposition shown in Fig. 1. shownfin'Fig. V8, the figure I2 executing anumber of steps Ein that position before'it is again carried toward 'theopposite side by the'cooperation of crank pin 48 and the lower portion"58 of the slotted plate'42.

As so far described, the toy dancing figure might `be-rigidly secured atthe forward end of the operating or support arm I8. However, oneimportant advantage of the present construction is the `ease with whichthe gure may be arranged foran oscillation or sideward swinging movementabout the supportarm. As here illustrated, arm I8 is formedof'round wireor rod, and it passes freely through the figure at a point above thecenter of gravity of the figure. The figure then remains normally ingenerally upright position, but when the'flgure is swung to one side byarm I8, the lower or `'heavier part of the figure continues its movementand swings outwardly beyond the'support rod. Similarly, when the supportlarm moves in opposite direction, the feet tend to lag behind, thusbringing the figure toy angular position, and, finally, at the end ofthe sideward movement, the feet `continue their movement, thus swingingthe figure in opposite direction. The result of this additional movementof the iigure, combined with the movements previously described, is thatthe figure simulates the spirited or flying movement of a modern stagedance and not the mere shuffling in fixed bodily position of theordinary toy 'jiggern TheV motor `comprises a main spring 52 the outerend of -which is secured to the motor frame at 54, and the inner end ofwhich is connected toa suitable winding stem 58 a part of which is bentto form a winding key 58. Stem 56 is connected to a main gear 68 bymeans of conventional ratchet mechanism, so that the main spring may bewound without driving the entire toy. Gear 68 has xedly secured theretoa suitable collar 82 carrying at its forward end a plate V|54 which issecured to and forms a part of cam wheel 38. Cam wheel 38 is thus causedto rotate with gear 60 and winding stem 58 when the motor is unwinding.Plate 84 serves an additional function in providing a rigid support forcrank` pin 48 because the crankpin passes through both the cam wheel 38and the plate 64.

The motor is further provided with a train of step-up gearing which,`however, is used primarily for speed governing and control purposes.Specifically, gear 60 meshes with a pinion 66 fixed to a gear G8 whichin turn meshes with a pinion 10 fixed to a gear 12 which in turn meshesAwhich in turn` with a pinion 14 fixed to agear 16 The parts then dwellin the positionk meshes with a terminal pinion 18. It will be understoodthat pinions 66 and 14 are loosely carried by spindle 88, while pinionsI0 and 'I8 areA ,be used as a stop element to control the starting 'andstopping of the spring motor. For this purpose, I provide a stop lever86 pivoted on the motor frame at 88 and having a bent inner end 98adapted to be moved into the path of the enlarged or eccentric part ofmember 84. In other words, by moving the opposite or manually movableend 92 of the stop lever downwardly, the end 98 is elevated, thusfreeing the spring motor for operation. When, on the other hand, themanually movable end 92 is elevated, the motor is locked againstunwinding.

When, 4asis "here the' case, the ,support arm I8 is -bent upwardlyYrather than straight, it is necessary to prevent the arm from turningabout its 4longitudinal axis, for otherwise the figure would be undulylowered. Referring to Fig.- 2, I

provide an auxiliary arm 94 having one end fix-V edly secured to Varm 8at 9S, and having its other end received in a vertical slot 98 cut inthe motor frame plate 35. It will be manifest that "the auxiliary arm-94 in no *Way interferes with the desired universal movement of supportarm I8 about its pivotal connection 34, for the arm may be moved both-sidewardly and vertically with the utmost freedom. However, the arm isprevented from rotating or oscillating about its longitudinal axis,because of the cooperating relation of auxiliary arm 94 and slot 98.

The frame-work ofthe motor comprises two main pieces of metal. The firstpiece, numbered 36, extends generally parallel to plate |8 but is turnedforwardly at the upper and lower corners to form spacer arms |00 whichare connected to plate I6 by appropriate tongue and slot connections.The second piece, numbered |02, acts as aback vplate for the frame andis turned forwardly at its side edges to form side walls |84 which arejoined vto the forward wall .3,6 byappropriate tongue andslot'connections."

It is believed that the construction and operation, as well as the manyadvantages of my improved dancing figure toy, will be apparent from theforegoing detailed description thereof. The gure is not'marred by avisible vertical support rod extending upwardly from the base. Theabsencepf such a support rod also contributes to permit a perfectly freeactive movement of the legs of the figure, particularly when the figureis moved from sideto side as well as vertically. 'Ihisfside to sidemovement adds greatly to the realism of operation. Considerable range ofmovement is obtained without equal movement of the visible portion ofthesupport arm, -for the '.reason that the support arm is moved with anoscillatory movement about a fixed pivot. VThis 1oY A aio'oase.

ments ofthe figure, as to produce a-realistic Leffect.

It will be apparent that while I- have shown and described my inventionin a -preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in thestructure disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention,defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dancing toy comprising arloosely jointed passing loosely into thegure at a point abovethe center of gravity thereof and forming ahorizontal pivot about which the ligure may swing freely from side toside, means causing at least part of the figure ,to vibrate up and downto simulate dancing, and means to move the aforesaid support arm fromside to side. Y Y -1 3. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointedfigure, a single support arm extending rearwardly from said figure, theforward end of the arm passing loosely into the gure at a point abovethe center of gravity thereof and forming a horizontal pivot about whichthe figure may swing freely from side to side, means causing at leastpart of the figure to mo-ve up and down to simulate dancing, means tomove the aforesaid support arm from side to side, and a single motor forcausing both of the aforesaid movements.

Y 4. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed figure, motor-worksdisposed behind Vand spaced from said figure, a single support annextending from said figure rearwardly to said motor-works,

the forward end of the arm passing loosely'intoV the ligure at a pointabovev the center of gravity thereof and forming a horizontal pivotabout which the figure may swing freely from side to side, and means insaid motor-works for moving the support arm from side to side.

5. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed ligure, motor-worksdisposed behind and spaced from said figure, asingle support armextending from said figure rearwardly to said motor-works, the forwardend of the arm passing loosely into the figure at a point above thecenter of gravity thereof and forming a horizontal pivot about which thefigure may swing freely from side to side, means in said motor-works forvibrating the support arm up and down, and additional means for movingthe aforesaid support arm from side to side.

6. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed figure, motor-worksdisposed in back of and spaced from said figure, a support arm extendingfrom said figure rearwardly to said motorworks, and means in saidmotor-works for moving the support arm witha complex motion havingcomponents in a plurality of different directions.

7. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed gure, motor-works disposedbehind and spaced from said figure, a support arm extending from saidfigure rearwardly to said motor-works, means in said motor-works forvibrating the support arm up and down, and additional means in saidmotor-*works for oscillating'the support arm from side to side.

y8. jAf dancing toy comprising a loosely jointedY gure, motor-worksspaced fromsaid ligure, a Y support arm extending from said figuretosaidv motor-works, the end of said support arm remote from lsaidfigure being pivotallymounted for universal movement, and means in saidmotor-works for oscillating the support arm with a complex motion havingcomponents in a plurality of different directions.

9. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed ligure, Vmotor-workslocated inV back of and spaced from said figure, a single support armextending rearwardly from saidrgure to'said motor-works, the forward endof the arm passing loosely into the figure at a point above the centerof Ygravity thereof and'forming ahorizontal pivot about which the figuremay swing-freely 'Y from side to side, a toothed cam wheel rotated bysaid motor-works, said wheeljhaving a plurality of teeth disposed on itsperiphery, a part of said support arm resting on the periphery of saidcam wheel and being vibrated up and down by said cam wheel, andadditional means formoving to side.

l 10. A dancingtoy Ycomprisingna loosely jointed ligure, motor-worksspaced fromA said-gurefa single supportarm extending from said figurethe aforesaid support arm from side to said motor-works, a toothedcamwheelof relatively large diameterrotatedby said motor-v works, saidwheel having a plurality ofV teeth dis-y posed on its periphery forvibrating the support arm upY and down, said teethbeing irregular in`spacing and dimension in order to produce a de-V siredvariety in thedancing movement of the ligure, and additional means for horizontallykrev ciprocating the aforesaid support arm.

11. A dancing toy comprising a looselyj(-)ir'itedY Y figure, motor-workslocated in back of and Yspacedfrom said figure, a single support armextending rearwardly from said ligure to said motor-works, a toothed camwheel of relatively large diameter rotated by said motor-works, saidwheel having a plurality of teeth disposed on its periphery, said teethbeing irregular in spacing and dimension in orderto produce a desiredvariety inthe dancing movementof the figure, a part of said support armresting on the periphery: of said cam wheel and being vibrated upanddown` by said cam wheel, and additional means for moving theaforesaid support arm from side to side.v

12. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointedv ligure` motor-workslocated in back of and spaced from said figure, a support arm extendingrear- Wardly from said figure to said motor-works, a movable platehaving a vertically disposed slot through which the support arm passes,means driven by said motor to move the plate and with it the support armfrom side to side, and means driven by said motor to vibrate the supportarm 4up and down.

13. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed gurje, motor-workslocated in' backs of and spaced from said figure, a support armextending rearwardly from said figure to said motorworks, a toothed camwheel rotated by said motor-works, said wheel having a plurality ofteeth disposed on its periphery, a part of said support arm resting onthe periphery of said cam Wheel and being vibrated up and down by saidcam wheel, a movable plate having a vertically disposed slot throughwhich the support arm passes,

and means driven by said l-moto'r for moving the plate from side toside.

14. A dancing toy comprising a loosely7 jointed figure, motor-workslocated in back of and spaced from said gure, a support arm extendingrearwardly from said figure to said motorworks, a toothed cam wheelrotated by said motor-works, said wheel having a plurality of teethdisposed on its periphery, a part Yof said support arm resting on theperiphery of said cam wheel and being vibrated up and down by said camwheel, a movable plate having a vertically disposed slot through whichthe support arm passes, and means on said cam wheel cooperating withsaid plate to move the plate from side to side during rotation of thecam wheeLwhereby the support arm is rapidly vibrated in a verticaldirection and is more slowly moved in a sideward direction.

15. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed gure, motor-works locatedin` back of and spaced from said ligure, a support arm extendingrearwardly from said figure to said motor-Works, a toothed cam Wheel ofrelatively large diameter rotated by said motor-works, said wheel havinga plurality of teeth disposed on its periphery,

said teeth being irregular in spacing and dimen sion in order to producea desired variety in the dancing movement of the figure, a part of saidsupport arm resting on the periphery of said cam Wheel and beingvibrated up and down by said cam wheel, a movable plate `having avertically disposed slot through which the support arm passes, and meanson said cam wheel cooperating with said plate to move the plate fromside to side during rotation of the cam wheel, whereby the support armis rapidly vibrated in a vertical Ldirection and is more slowly moved ina sideward direction.

16. A dancing toy comprising a base simulating a stage, an upright platenear the back of the stage simulating a stage drop, a loosely jointedfigure disposed Vabove the forward part of the stage, a support armextending rearwardly from said figure through an opening in said drop,the forward end of the arm passing loosely into the gure at a pointabove the center of gravity thereof and forming a horizontal pivot aboutwhich the gure may swing freely from side to side, spring motor-worksmounted in back of said drop, and means driven thereby for moving thesupport arm from one side to the other side of the aforesaid stage.

17. A dancing toy comprising a base simulating a stage, an upright platenear the back of the stage simulating a stage drop, a loosely jointedgure disposed above the forward part of the stage, a support armextending rearwardly from said figure through an opening in said drop,spring motor-Works mounted in back of said drop, and means driventhereby for vibrating the support arm up and down and from side to side.

`18. A dancing toy comprising a base simulating a stage, an uprightplate near the back of the stage simulating a stage drop, a looselyjointed gure disposed above the forward part of the stage, a support armextending rearwardly from said figure through an opening in said drop,spring motor-works mounted in back of said drop, a plate movably mountedin back of said drop, said plate having a vertical slot disposed in backof the aforesaid-opening through which the support arm passes, a toothedrotatable cam wheel bearing against the aforesaid support arm, saidsupport arm being pivotally mounted for universal movement, said plateand cam wheel being driven by said spring motorto oscillate the supportarm in different directions.

19. A dancing toy comprising a base simulating a stage,'an upright platenear the back of the stage simulating a stage drop, a loosely jointedfigure disposed above the forward part of the stage, a support armextending rearwardly from said figure through an opening in said drop,spring motorworks mounted in back of said drop, a member pivoted at oneend to said drop, said member having a vertical slot disposed in back ofthe aforesaid opening through which the support arm passes, a toothedcam wheel of large diameter rotatably mounted adjacent said member andbearing against the aforesaid support arm, the rear end of said supportarm being pivotally mounted for universal movement, said member and camwheel having means which cooperate for slowly moving the member in adirection opposite the direction of movement of that part of the camwheel bearing against the arm, but which means disengage to permit morerapid return movement of the support arm by the cam wheel.

20. A dancing toy comprising a loosely jointed gure, a support armextending from said figure rearwardly, said gure being freely pivoted onsaid support arm, and motor-works for vibrating the support arm up anddown and for moving the support arm from side to side.

. RAYMOND LOI-IR..

